Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 506 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on RCL shares. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Argus increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total value of $33,150,685.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,167,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,321,868,240.23. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $261.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $70.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $243.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.31. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $113.10 and a 52 week high of $277.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.